Just a place in the sentence. Use for, since, ago, by, until, after, later, on time, in time, finally, in the end, at the end, these days, once, one day, at once ...

The English language sometimes seems so difficult to learn, because many words must occupy a certain place in a sentence (for example, at the beginning of the sentence, before the predicate, or even at the end), not like in Russian, where depending on intonation we can change the order words in a sentence.

One of these words that requires compliance with certain rules when used is the adverb “yet”. Most often it is used to clarify an action that was expected. It is never used in sentences referring to the past tense, and is translated as “yet, already.”

In most cases, “yet” is used at the end of a sentence in questions:

Are we here yet? - We already here / Are we there yet?

A typical phrase used by schoolchildren during trips.

Hasn't Tom sent a letter to you yet ? – Isn’t Tom more didn't send you a letter?

"Yet" is also used in negative sentences to describe actions that have not yet taken place.

I haven't done my homework yet, the movie is so thrilling!- I more I didn't do my homework, the movie is so exciting!

In some cases, the use of yet in affirmative sentences with the meaning “still, for now” is quite justified.

We have yet to look for a new employee.- We Allmore We are looking for a new employee.

We are yet in Los Angeles, so call me later.- We Bye What in Los Angeles, so call me later.

Please note that this usage is typical for formal speech and is unlikely to occur in everyday conversation between friends or peers.

The most unusual way to use "yet" is to use it at the beginning of a sentence. In this case, it is no longer an adverb, but a conjunction - “but, however.”

Yet he is able to come to the party tonight. I don’t think he is so busy. –But he may come to the party tonight. I don't think he's that busy.

You can find “yet” with the same meaning in the middle of a sentence:

The dress is good, yet it could be better made.- The dress is good, But it could have been made better.

As you may have noticed, "yet" can perform a variety of functions that will make your speech more natural and understandable to a real native English speaker.

In what meanings do you most often use “yet”?

The English language is “rich” in its tenses. It is quite difficult to remember all the cases of their use, but time indicators come to the rescue. Today the focus is on present perfect indicator words.

Present Perfect tense

Present Perfect or Present Perfect is one of the confusing tenses for those learning English. The reason is understandable - there is no such tense in the Russian language, so it is impossible to draw a parallel and understand what we are talking about.

The Present Perfect tense is formed using two verbs: auxiliary have/has and main in 3rd form. Auxiliary verbs are not translated and are changed:

has for he (he), she (she), it (it), and have - for I (I), you (you), we (we), they (they).

The main verb is translated on the contrary and does not change. The only thing is that the 3rd form for regular verbs is verb + ending -ed (to watch - watched, to use - used, to smile - smiled), and for irregular ones - the 3rd column from the table of irregular verbs (to be - been, to hear - heard, to bring - brought):

It is a pity, but I have never been to Paris - It’s a pity, but I’ve never been to Paris.

He has brought beautiful flowers today - He brought beautiful flowers today.

Meaning

As can be seen from the examples, this tense form is translated into Russian using verbs in the past tense. It turns out that in meaning the Past Simple is very close to the Present Perfect. And yet there is a difference between them. Unlike the Past Simple (Simple Past), which describes ordinary, repeated actions in the past, the Present Perfect tense (Present Perfect) invites you to “plunge” into past events, the result of which affects the present:

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She has already cooked her dinner. It smells tasty - She has already prepared lunch. Smells tasty.

From this example it is clear that the first action (has cooked) became the cause of the second (smells - smells), and the second was a consequence of the first. It seems that everything is simple and clear. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. More complex cases and rules are hidden under the “dark water”, and it is not always possible to detect them. It's time to take advantage of the hints that the English language itself offers free of charge - words with Present Perfect markers.

Words-satellites of time

Present Perfect Time Markers refer to adverbs of time that answer the question “When?”, indicate that an event occurred in an unspecified period, and emphasize the connection of the past with the present. These include time indicators:

The tense indicators yet (yet) and before (before) are used only at the end of the sentence.

• Already- already (The teacher has already explained a difficult grammar rule - The teacher has already explained a difficult grammar rule);
• Just– just now, just right (My son has just finished drawing his first picture - My son just finished drawing his first picture);
• Ever- ever (Have you ever seen the ocean? - Have you ever seen the ocean?);
• Never- never (She has never mentioned his name - She never mentioned his name);
• Before- before, before (This artist has painted only women before - This artist painted only women before);
• Recently- recently, recently (He has helped many immigrants recently - Recently he helped many immigrants);
• Not...yet- not yet, still not (The police has not arrested him yet - The police have not arrested him yet);
• Lately- recently, a long time ago, recently (My father has lately made much for me - My father has recently done a lot for me);
• So far- at this hour, by now, up to this moment, already (His progress in studies has so far been slow - His progress in studies up to this point was slow);
• By now- by now (My son has read much by now - By now, my son has read a lot);
• Up to now- until now, until now (She has not known his name up to now - Until now she did not know his name);

Russian-speaking people often come to their aid." auxiliary words", indicating time in English. The fact is that the tense systems in English and Russian languages ​​are strikingly different: in Russian there are three tenses (past, present, future), and in English there are 4 groups of active tenses, each of which consists of past, present, future tense... Fortunately, the distinctive feature of each tense is certain words that help to understand what time it is.

Below is a table with "auxiliary words" indicating tense in English:

Here are some illustrative examples:

Group " Indefinite»:

Past: I cooked dinner* yesterday(2 hours ago, last Friday) – I was cooking dinner yesterday.

Present: I always(very often) cook dinner – I always cook dinner.

Future: I will cook dinner tomorrow(next Monday) – I’ll cook dinner tomorrow.

Group " Continuous"(the speaker wants to emphasize the duration of the action):

Past: I was cooking dinner for two hours last Sunday(from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.). – I cooked dinner for two hours last Sunday.

Present: I am cooking dinner right now(at the moment) – I’m cooking dinner right now.

Future: I will be cooking tomorrow for all day(at 5 o’clock tomorrow) – I’ll be cooking dinner all day tomorrow.

Group " Perfect»:

Past: I had cooked dinner by 10 o’clock yesterday– I cooked dinner at 10 o’clock yesterday.

Present: I have cooked dinner today– I cooked dinner today.

Future: I will have cooked dinner by 10 o'clock tomorrow– I will prepare dinner tomorrow at 10 o’clock.

Group " Perfect continuous»:

Past: I had been cooking dinner for all day, when he came - I had been preparing dinner all day when he came to me.

Present: I have been cooking dinner all day, that's why I am tired – I’ve been cooking dinner all day, so I’m tired.

Future: I will have been cooking for hours, when you will go to work - I will already be cooking for hours when you go to work.

* In modern English (especially in American), the word “dinner” is increasingly used to mean dinner, and the word “lunch” is used for lunch

Having a solid knowledge of English tenses and using them correctly can show you off as a professional. And in order to make your learning task easier, you should pay attention to the marker words for each tense of the English language. “Why are they called that?” - you ask. The thing is that most often in the text we highlight the main words that are worth remembering with a marker. That's why the clue words for tenses in English got their name. It is these tips that will be able to show in which case a certain tense should be used, and a table of all tenses of the English language with time indicators will allow you to study this issue especially effectively. However, you should not think that tense indicators can replace a full study of grammar. Therefore, we decided to dwell on this issue in more detail and remind you of the tenses of the English language. Let's get started.

Simple Tenses: Simple Indefinite Tenses

As we said earlier, you should not think that tense indicators in English can replace your knowledge of grammar. They form the basis of language knowledge. This means it’s a good idea to remind you of the basic rules.

So, simple tenses in English are also called Indefinite. It is worth remembering this fact so that it does not mislead you when reading literature on language learning.

The following tenses are considered simple:

• Present Simple: The action is happening at the present moment. Accordingly, helper words in English tenses will indicate this fact.
• Past Simple: Shows that an action was done in the past and ended before the present. This tense also has its own tense markers in English, which we will look at below.
• Future Simple: Indicates actions that will be performed in the future. Naturally, we use our own hint words for tenses in English.

Continuous Complete Tenses: Perfect Continuous Tenses

Next we will look at the second group of basic tenses, which form the basis of English grammar. They also have their own time indicators in English. But first we should talk about this category of tenses.

First of all, it is worth noting that this category combines two categories. These are Continuous Tense and Perfect Tense. This means that the action has already lasted for some time, and will continue in the future.

Continuous completed tenses include:

• Present Perfect Continuous – present continuous completed tense. It indicates that the action began earlier and continues to the present. This is where time markers in English help, because they make it easier to determine a given time.
• Past Perfect Continuous – past continuous completed tense. It shows that the action began earlier and continued for a certain period of time.
• Future Perfect Continuous – future continuous completed tense. It shows that the action began in the future and will last for a certain period of time.

As we already mentioned, there are special markers for the Present Continuous that are worth remembering. Basically they indicate a certain period of time. Below we will dwell on this issue in more detail. In the meantime, we will move on to consider time indicators in English.

Signal words for Simple

In order to make it easier to consider the time indicators, we decided to systematize the information in a table. Thus, through visualization, it will be easier for you to learn and remember them.

Simple Tenses and time markers in English

Time markers for Continuous tenses

In this table we have considered only simple times. And as we mentioned earlier, there is another large category of times. We will talk about them below.

Let's consider markers for the group of continuous tenses:

Completed times

Auxiliary words occupy a special place in Perfect Tenses. But first, you should say a few words about each time in this category.

• Present Perfect Tenses - denotes an action that has already taken place. It is about the outcome that is being discussed in the present.
• Past Perfect Tenses - indicates an action or state that completed before a certain point in the past.
• Future Perfect Tenses - an action that will be completed before a certain point in the future.

Present Perfect

Let us draw your attention to the use of the word always in this tense. You may have noticed that it was previously used as a marker for Simple Tenses. However, it is worth understanding that these pointers are used in different circumstances.

For example:

We always book tickets in advance. — We always book tickets in advance.

We have always booked tickets in advance. — We always booked tickets in advance.

That is, in the first case we are talking about simple actions of the present time, and in the second - about the result of their action. And we move on.

Past Perfect and Future Perfect

As we can see again, the past and future tenses use the same markers in almost every category. And this, you see, makes them much easier to remember. So let's look at the English tense marker words that fit this category.

• By - to… / to….
• By Monday - by Monday.
• By evening - towards the evening.
• By the morning - by the morning / until the morning.
• Before - before… / before… / before….

Perfect Continuous Tenses

We have already examined in detail this category of English tenses from the point of view of grammar. Now it’s time to talk about the indicators of this time, as well as their features.

The first feature of this category is that there is no gradation by time. That is, markers are suitable for both the present and the future and past tense. And also it is in this category of the English language that prepositions act as indicators. But more on this a little later, but for now it’s worth listing the main markers of the continuous completed tense.

Pointers for Perfect Continuous Tenses:

We have indicated the main markers, but these tenses of the English language are characterized by the use of prepositions. First of all, it is worth noting that we are talking about the prepositions for (for some time) and since (from some point in the past, since).

For example:

I haven’t heard him since he left Moscow. “I haven’t heard from him since he left Moscow.”

Mary has written a composition for an hour. Mary wrote the essay in an hour.

Time markers in English: table with word translation

To summarize this section, we would like to place a general table here. Save it and come back to it if you have any difficulties while learning.

Today we looked at one of the features of the tenses of the English language. Markers are a great option for language learning tips. However, you should understand that English is not only about tips; you should still devote time to full study. To do this, we strongly recommend that you read articles on grammar; it is also worth considering interesting examples and exceptions in each tense. The English language is multifaceted and interesting if you are willing to spend time learning all its intricacies. And we wish you good luck in this matter! Refer to our articles on English grammar, and you will definitely succeed!